Olean General Hospital, the sole community hospital provider in our geographic area, is a 209-bed acute care facility located in Olean, New York providing primary and secondary medical and health services to the residents of rural Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties in New York, and Potter and McKean Counties in Pennsylvania. The Olean General Hospital Internet Connection Project Grant will enable the hospital and its affiliated organizations to obtain a much needed enterprise wide Internet/email system across the current NT based Local Area Network. It will involve initial installation of hardware and software to provide highspeed internet access and email communications while maintaining security and confidentiality of data. Additionally, it will provide technical and user training, and ongoing user support. Goals include: 1. Provide members of the healthcare community (physicians, nurses, pharmacists, quality assurance, infection control specialists, compliance officers, education specialists, technical support staff, etc) with high-speed access to Internet-based programs, teaching tools, information and library resources for education, training and research, 2. Enable facility to comply with New York State reporting regulations and protocols in areas such as Medical Records, Quality Assurance, Finance, Credentialing and Education, 3. Establish secure electronic mail to enhance communication internally and externally, and 4. Assist with patient care through timely distribution of patient related data via the Internet and email. Olean General Hospital firmly believes that Internet and email access will improve quality of care for the community through increased educational, training and research opportunities, as well as improved access to relevant data. Recognizing that increased effi?ciency and productivity translate into cost savings, we are committed to assuming all ongoing costs of managing the proposed internet connection beyond the funding period.